


It’s Not the Food

by GeneralKenobi212



Series: Sukka Supremacy [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Married Couple, Morning Sickness, Oblivious Sokka (Avatar), Pregnancy, oops where did Suki’s period go
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:08:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29014878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeneralKenobi212/pseuds/GeneralKenobi212
Summary: Nausea. Fatigue. Cravings. Insomnia.Sokka is an unwitting baker, and Suki is his equally oblivious oven.They were made for each other, and now they’ve made someone else.
Relationships: Kanna/Pakku (Avatar), Katara & Suki (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Series: Sukka Supremacy [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2110200
Comments: 8
Kudos: 51





	It’s Not the Food

Pakku’s gaze drifted lazily to his wife, full of knowing. Gran-Gran, spooning out a bowl of sea prunes for her son, caught his glance with a nigh-imperceptible smile. Neither were comedians—that designation belonged to another one of the igloo’s seven occupants—but both pairs of old eyes still twinkled with silent amusement.

“Suki! Suki are you alright?!”

Sokka leapt up off the walrus-ram rug and bolted out of his grandmother’s dwelling, hot on the heels of his retching wife.

“Excellent as always, Kanna.” The old Waterbending master spoke as if his step-granddaughter-in-law’s face hadn’t just turned a sickly shade of green thirty seconds ago. “You’ve truly perfected the consistency of the broth.”

“To be fair, she perfected it forty years ago,” Hakoda added, passing one bowl to his daughter and another to her boyfriend.

“It’s an acquired taste,” Gran-Gran told the young Firelord, who was doing a passable job at hiding his revulsion. “And I expect you to like it by the time you bring my great-grandchildren to visit.”

Zuko and Katara—in unison—spewed stew back into their bowls, although not out of disgust.

“Gran-Gran!” Katara wheezed, horrified by the insinuation that she and Zuko were going to have children any time soon, “You didn’t used to tease Suki like that!”

“She didn’t need to—and certainly doesn’t now,” Pakku snorted, “That girl has a stomach like the Boiling Rock. Soldiers trained to fight out in the field learn to eat anything. Perhaps what’s why she’s such a good match for Sokka.”

Hakoda and Gran-Gran both chuckled along, leaving Katara and Zuko to share a confused frown.

“By ‘that girl,’ you mean Suki?” Zuko questioned, raising his only eyebrow, “Who just took one bite of her breakfast and became physically sick? Like she did yesterday at lunch?”

The adults’ laughing picked up again, as if they were sharing some inside joke (they were) that Zuko had unknowingly told. Hakoda, wiping a tear from his eye for the sake of theatrics (Sokka really was his father’s son), turned to the Firelord.

“It’s not the food.”  
  


———————————————————————

“Do you have any cousins?”

“A few,” Sokka replied as he led his wife across the open tundra, “My mom’s sister has two boys and a girl.”

“How old?”

“Uhhh...the boys are eight and ten...and Kunki is four or five, I think.”

Suki just hummed in acknowledgement, watching her husband crouch down in the snow, spear in hand, and check the faded tracks of a polar-bear-dog.  


_ Spirits...how much longer are we going to be out here? _

When it became apparent that Sokka wasn’t going to ask the reason for her question, she offered it up anyway. 

“I saw your Gran-Gran working on baby clothes before we left this morning,” Suki said, sustaining a particularly brisk gust of wind that made her wince. “She was sewing together a tiny parka—it actually looked like a much smaller version of the one she made me, with green dye instead of blue. Think you have a new cousin on the way?”

Silence lingered for a few seconds, a silence that permeated as far as the eye could see—save for the periodic howling of the wind. 

Suki seldom found herself bored in Sokka’s presence, but this experience hadn’t exactly lived up to the tales of legendary Water Tribe hunts he’d regaled Team Avatar with. So far, not only had they failed to catch the trail of a single living thing, but the conversation was suffering under Sokka’s intense diligence.

_How many hours have we been out here? Five? Six? Is he really that determined to catch something?_

“First off,” he finally replied, scanning the bleak eternity of white for any sign of the South Pole’s apex land predator, “It’s not _your _ Gran-Gran.’ It’s ‘ _our _ Gran-Gran.’ Or just ‘ _Gran-Gran_.’ Believe me, if she’s under the impression that you think you’re anything less than one of the family, she’ll take her wrath out on me.”

A flurry of warmth filled Suki’s stomach, and she smiled as she stepped up beside her husband, slipping her mittened hand into his.

“Second off,” he sighed, “She likes to do that stuff. Aunt Atska might be preggers, but the parka could be for anyone. People have been popping out a lot of babies since the end of the war.”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

“I usually am.”

Suki rolled her eyes at his (handsomely) cocky smirk, one that she knew was meant to tease her. Had he expressed such chauvinism years ago, she would’ve pushed him into the snow—but by now, she knew he used it to flirt and banter.

“You are...but not as often as I am.”

“Not nearly as often.”

Now that remark was completely genuine—and so was the kiss he pressed to her forehead.

“Oh, and third off,” Sokka added, gesturing to a modest formation of cliffs and caves in the distance, “This sucks. Wanna go soak in a hot spring instead?”

“Anything but more of this,” Suki sighed, relieved that her first (and likely last) hunt was over, “Are you sure it’s a good idea to get our clothes wet, though? We do have a long trek back in the wind and cold.”

“Well...our clothes won’t really be staying on. Mine won’t, at least—and as your husband who doesn’t want you to get sick...”

“So this is a ploy to get me naked in a pool with you?” Suki snarked playfully, a coy smile winding across her full lips.

“Nowhere you haven’t been before,” he grinned with a wag of his eyebrows.

As it turned out, Sokka did end up spearing a wild animal before returning to the village. 

———————————————————————

“All I’m saying is that a komodo-rhino has horns. How is your saber-toothed-moose-lion supposed to defend against that?”

“With his antlers, obviously!” Sokka exclaimed, holding splayed hands atop his head to demonstrate. “And he has two of them!”

“Rhino horns are located on the anterior of the skull,” Zuko retorted, waving his hand dismissively, “Antlers protrude laterally from the frontal bone—they aren’t designed to defend against horns.”

“Don’t try to pull that palace-tutored stuff on me, Snooty-Lord! My book from Wan Shi Tong’s library said moose-lion claws can tear through a komodo-rhino’s hide!”

While the two doofuses continued their petty debate, their partners chatted across Sokka’s igloo at the kitchen table.

“Razor-sharp discs of ice?! You threw those at your grandfather?!”

“He wasn’t my grandfather yet,” Katara laughed, bending hot water out of the fireplace kettle and into their two cups, “And this was back when he thought women belonged in the healing hut.”

“Oh...” grumbled Suki, shaking her head, “One of  _ those_.”

“Yeah,” Katara huffed, handing her sister-in-law a steaming cup of herbal tea, “One of those. But he hasn’t been bad since then—guess all it takes is having some humility slapped into them.”

Suki grinned as they both shot a glance across the room. Her husband, imitating a saber-tooth-moose-lion, was busy trying to gore a cornered Zuko with his hand-antlers.

“Stop that!” the Firelord protested, squirming and writhing as he kept trying to push Moose-Sokka away, “This is ridiculous! I’m a two-ton quadruped! The fight wouldn’t go like this!”

“Speaking of that,” Katara continued, turning back to Suki, “Have you thought about teaching some basic combat classes to non-benders here in the village? I know plenty of girls who’d love to learn how to put their brothers in their place.”

“Your Gra—I mean,  _ Gran-Gran_—and I talked about it a few days ago. She seemed to like the idea but said I should wait a few weeks to make a decision.”

“Wait for what?” said the Waterbender, wondering what reason there could be to not start as soon as possible.

“I’m not sure,” Suki shrugged, taking another sip, “But it’s alright. I’ve been feeling a little fatigued lately, anyway—must be the short days. It’s difficult to find energy when it’s dark all the time.”

“The winters here aren’t easy,” Katara agreed with a nod, but was fairly certain that the brief daylight hours weren’t the cause of Suki’s exhaustion. The village was still pretty small, and the igloos weren’t exactly sound-proof—so unless Suki had some spirit-induced sickness that made her scream Sokka’s name in her sleep every night, Katara had to guess that her sister-in-law was losing out on some rest...even if they did sleep in long past sunrise...

———————————————————————

The sovereign ruler of the Fire Nation stalked through town, eyes narrowed and fists clenched as he stormed his way from his guest cabin to the tannery. Years ago, the sight of an angry Firebender would’ve been cause for alarm, but the villagers knew Katara’s broody scar-faced boyfriend was as harmless as an otter-penguin (most of the time, at least). 

Hearing the entrance flap shift open behind him, Sokka glanced away from the pelt he was stretching and spotted the only red parka in the Southern Water Tribe out of the corner of his eye. 

“Oh, hey Zuko—I’ve been meaning to talk to you. Katara mentioned heading up to the mountains to see the Southern Li—“

“Where are they?” the Firebender growled, marching towards the Tribesman with a murderous look in his eye. 

“Where are what?!” he yelped, shocked by his buddy’s sudden aggression. 

“I know you ate them, Sokka! Don’t try to pretend you haven’t been stealing from my cabin!”

“If it’s food, I probably did!” he admitted, cringing in shame, “But can you at least tell me what I took?”

“My fire flakes! I know you love them, but that was the only snack I brought from home! The only spicy thing I’ll have for weeks!”

Sokka’s guilt ebbed into confusion, and he frowned down at the rug, tapping his chin contemplatively as Zuko continued to fume. 

“Don’t you have anything to say for yourself? An apology, even?”

“It seems that we have a thief on the loose...a snack stealer...a flake fiend...” Finally, Sokka looked up to Zuko, his tone becoming comically serious. “Although I would prefer to be the one benefiting from the theft of your fire flakes, I am not responsible for their disappearance.”

“And you expect me to believe that?”

“The evidence will exonerate me!” the Tribesman declared dramatically, strutting straight past the Firelord and out the door flap.

“Where are we going?” Zuko spat, stomping out after him, “The stockades, so you can turn yourself in?”

“We will begin with my igloo. Once I show you there is no sign of your fire flakes, we can start our investigation!”

“Sokka, you stole my food! Don’t try to deny it—stop with this nonsense and just admit you took them!”

“If I took them, then I would have confessed already! I’m no liar—the only crime I have ever committed is being too hungry for my own good! Well...and defrauding all those Fire Nation townspeople with Toph and Aang...”

Zuko just grumbled as he followed Sokka into his home, squatting to pass through the entrance and watching impatiently as the Tribesman gestured around.

“Where should we begin? With my food stores, I suppose...alright...here’s my seal jerky basket—nothing in here but seal jerky...WHAT IN KURUK’S LOINCLOTH IS GOING ON?!”

Sokka whipped around to face Zuko, his face wrought with blood-boiling fury as the Firebender quickly backpedaled to the exit.

“Why is my seal jerky missing?!” he snarled, jabbing Zuko’s chest with an accusatory finger, “All of it! You thought I stole your fire flakes, and you wanted revenge! Well guess what, Jerky-Jerk-Bender?! I didn’t steal your stupid flakes!”

“Listen to me, Sokka!” Zuko begged as he stumbled back out into the snow, “I don’t know what you’re talking about! That wasn’t me! The only time I was in your igloo was last night, and we were all together! And...and...”

Their voices faded and the argument moved to Zuko’s cabin as the food-stealing allegations were reversed.

In the silence of Sokka’s igloo, the pile of furs that made up the bed shifted—at first, a pair of blue-violet eyes peeked out, then a head of auburn hair appeared, and gradually an entire Suki emerged from beneath the heap.

Eyes wide with guilt and concern, she chewed nervously on her bottom lip, quickly brushing the red crumbs off her chest—and cursing herself for so easily succumbing to her sudden appetite for meat and spicy food.

———————————————————————

Shuffling back from the outhouse in footwear that didn’t fit her, the Kyoshi Warrior glanced up at the myriad stars in the sky and grumbled against the universe—as well as her bladder—for keeping her awake.

It was only a two-minute walk through ankle-deep snow, but having to leave the warmth of her human-heater-husband and their pile of blankets to venture to the privy in the middle of the night wasn’t an experience she wanted to repeat...although, considering how it had been happening more and more frequently the past couple weeks, she knew it probably wouldn’t be the last time.

Pulling up the hood of the blue parka to shield her ears from the stinging cold, Suki trudged back to her igloo with an uneasy churning in her stomach.

She wasn’t sure what to call it—warrior’s instincts or woman’s intuition—but she had a feeling something was...off.

For one, Suki’s life had chugged along pleasantly and predictably for most of the past year (expect when Sokka took that arrow for her and almost died, which was a pretty big exception, admittedly). But otherwise, things had been slow and steady...marrying the boy she loved...training a new group of Kyoshi Warriors...spending time with her husband’s family...preparing to return to the Fire Nation as Zuko’s advisor and bodyguard.

Life was nice.

Too nice.

And that made Suki suspicious.

Ducking back into the igloo, she was met by the sound of Sokka’s soft snores. Mindlessly, she slipped off her husband’s parka and stepped out of his boots, placing them neatly near the door in case they required further use before the night was over.

Without a stitch left to warm her, Suki braved the chill for a few agonizing seconds as she hurried over to the mass of furs, swiftly slipping beneath them and pressing her icy skin against Sokka’s bare warmth. Unconsciously drooling on his pillow, Suki’s husband jerked and squirmed while she curled up against him, feeling fairly guilty for trying to steal his body heat, even if he was fast asleep.

Left alone with her thoughts, Suki waited for sleep to take her as she tried to expunge the feeling in her gut that something was about to blindside both of them.

She’d been feeling odd lately, but had passed it off as an unusual reaction to her extended stay in the arctic—this was by far the longest duration she’d spent at the South Pole, after all.

_ My body is just struggling to adapt...right? _

_ Nausea...fatigue...cravings...it’s just this new environment...my system isn’t used to it... _

But in the back of her mind, a tiny warning bell started to go off—a distant recognition that something more serious was going on.

_ Maybe I haven’t been getting enough exercise...at least not the conventional sort...we took that hike up to the mountain yesterday to watch the lights...Sokka took me on that hunt last week...and I’ve certainly been getting in a workout every night... _

Pushing away her simmering anxiety, Suki nuzzled her nose against Sokka’s cheek, smiling at how much fun their first several months of marriage had been—and not just in the lewd sense.

_ He’s my best friend, and we love to do the thing that brings us closest together...the thing that literally makes us one...there’s nothing dirty about that... _

A giggle escaped her as Suki wantonly raised her leg and draped it across Sokka’s middle, desiring as much physical contact with him as possible. With his hair down, Suki found him irresistibly cute—even more so than usual.

_ Mother of Kyoshi, he’s always so eager...when’s the last time we’ve gone to bed quietly? _

That question bounced around Suki’s head for a moment as the giddy mirth began to dissolve.

_ When’s the last time we went to bed quietly?_

_ Three  weeks? _

_..._

_ Four? _

_..._

_ Six? _

_..._

_ Longer?  
_

_... _

All in an instant, her anxiety surged back in a boiling tidal wave, and all the faraway warning bells sounded in her ears at full volume.

_ Oh spirits... _

Suki bolted upright in bed, eyes wide and hands clutching fistfuls of hair as she was seized by a very sudden, very alarming realization.

It _had_ been at least six weeks.  


Six straight weeks of nocturnal recreation. 

Six straight weeks without cramps. 

Six straight weeks without bleeding.

Suki’s hand flew to her middle, still flat and toned with the outline of her gridded abdominal muscles. Suddenly, everything began to fall into place—and before she could consider doing otherwise, she was jostling her husband awake.

“Sokka!” she hissed, “Sokka, wake up!”

“Mmmmmm...my jerky...damn you, Zuko...” he mumbled groggily, rolling over away from her.

“Zuko didn’t eat your jerky—I did!”

Evidently, even Sokka’s unconscious mind was appalled by this betrayal, because he immediately turned back around and began rubbing his eyes.

“You...you did what?” he grumbled, propping himself on his elbows. As soon as his wife came into focus, however, his eyes drifted south to her bare chest.

_ Mmmmmm...boobs...Suki boobs... _

“Look at me, baby,” she pled, and Sokka recognized the franticness in her wild eyes. “I need you to listen.”

“What is it? Are you alright? More tummy troubles?”

“I...well, not right now...but I need you to think back...when’s the last time I had one of my ‘bad days?’”

Recognizing his own euphemism for the less-than-pleasant part of the menstrual cycle, Sokka frowned and began scratching his scruff.

“Uh...well...”

Although he didn’t vocalize it, Sokka used the same method of backtracking as his wife, going back night-by-night and trying to determine the last time her monthly bleeding had interfered with their lovemaking...

_ It’s been longer than a month...is she cured?! The cursed cycle is broken?! This is GREAT! Suki will never suffer again! _

_Wow! I’ve never heard of this happening before...it’s hard to believe...almost too good to be true..._

_ Way too good to be true, actually... _

_ There’s probably a more logical explanation...what would cause a girl to miss her ‘bad days’...? _

Slowly, Sokka’s gaze rose from the furs, traveling up to meet his wife’s eyes. 

“Uh...Suki...are you...are we...”

That was all the confirmation she needed—confirmation that she wasn’t going crazy. 

The Mom-oshi Warrior gave him a brief nod as her eyes welled up with tears—even though she was still panicking, those tears were undoubtedly happy ones. Their baby hadn’t been planned, but the same thing was true for the best things in her life. Suki’s friends, her husband, and now their child—all unexpected, and all welcome additions. 

_In hindsight...maybe we should’ve been more careful...oh, but who cares?! I’m going to be a mom!_

Sokka quickly gathered his wife close to him, pulling her into his lap and pressing a long, tender kiss to her temple.

Feeling the wetness of his joyful tears falling onto her shoulder, Suki took his hand and placed it over her bare belly as he cooed in her ear.

“Mommy...”

“Daddy,” she whispered back, nestling against the father of her child. 

———————————————————————

“I probably should’ve suggested this sooner,” Katara admitted as she and her sister-in-law walked to the healing hut together, “You’ve been having nausea for a few weeks now. It might be the food, but it could be a stomach bug, too. Probably nothing serious—doesn’t hurt to be safe, though.”

“Hey!” called a voice from across the village’s central (and only) street, “Wait for me!”

“Sokka?” Katara said as they stopped, baffled by why her brother was so excited for her to use her bending to examine Suki’s intestines. “I’m sure there’s no reason to worry—this season’s sea prunes probably aren’t agreeing with her.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure, Auntie Katara,” Sokka mumbled as he stepped up beside his wife, speaking just loud enough for her to hear.

“What was that?” the Waterbender questioned, now visibly suspicious, “Is there something going on that I should know about? Something serious?”

“It’s nothing to worry about,” Suki calmed her with a gentle smile while the trio walked into the healing hut, “But before you begin, we think you should know...it’s not the food.”

**Author's Note:**

> For some reason I have been putting out stories backwards chronologically...it kinda bugs me, but eh, whatever. 
> 
> Working on a Sukka proposal fic and a follow-up to The Firelord’s Lover. After those and an Aang/Ty Lee one-shot, my queue is pretty open. I’ve got a solid list of story ideas ideas, but if you’re a Sukka lover and there’s something you want to see, lmk!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
